The 10 dumb myths of solar installers #6 6) Chinese product is rubbish  The myth here is that apart from Trina, Yingli and Suntech everything out of China is cumbersome, performs badly and will be up for warranty claims within a few years of being installed. Let’s remember that Chinese inverter manufacturer Growatt is the company that has the largest share of the Australian market when it comes to inverters. They had some issues in a prior run of inverters which got swapped out under warranty, as you should expect, yet everyone in the industry seems to be using that done and dusted story from the past as a model (but poor) case study of why Chinese inverters and other products are no good. There’s also a bit of irony in the rubbishing of all Chinese inverters because, as I’ve discovered, Growatt inverters for instance have better power monitoring than some of the….

The 10 dumb myths of solar installers #5 5) You can’t put panels facing south This one’s a biggy. I was previously in the trap also of criticising systems that were oriented south, southwest or southeast. Actually they’re great. They’re great if the north, east and west already have panels, as they help enhance self-consumption of solar output. They’re also great if installing on the northern roof is complicated and would necessitate a very expensive install. If you were comparing, say, a system on the north costing $1.30 or more per watt due to complications (split arrays, need for  DC optimisers/micro-inverters), but could get a system in for $1 per watt on the south, then the financials end up about the same and you could conceivably afford to install 30% more panels on the south that would make up for the loss of power output. The south facing system is also a good match for self-consumption….

The 10 dumb myths of solar installers #4 4) Panels should face west This one comes from our friends in the incumbent power business establishment and is rubbish. Systems should face any way that maximises production and benefits the customer. So if a customer isn’t home in the evening, then western facing panels may not be of that much benefit in lowering their personal power bill via maximising self-consumption. Although I think west-facing panels are perfectly fine for most people, it’s not a law that anyone should be following religiously. If power distributors want to run around pushing this myth on the solar industry and customers alike they could offer additional feed-in-tariffs to encourage it. But they don’t. The power companies are just spreading FUD – fear, uncertainty and doubt – to make people feel like they’re doing something wrong or unfair as a result of their north or east facing systems. Yet these people….

The 10 dumb myths of solar installers #3 3) There Must be NO SHADE on the panels OK, a system might experience some shading for some section of the day, say the afternoon – what’s the consequence? Some derating with reduced power output, but the system doesn’t blow up and isn’t damaged. If the shaded panels are facing north the derating could be as high as 15% and the amount of power output would still be as good as an unshaded west or east facing system which installers, for the most part, now thankfully happily sell. Obviously if you can give a customer a good sized system while eliminating shading or minimising it, that is a first preference. But then again you don’t want to plunk the panels lazily in the middle of the roof, which might crowd out the roof space so the customer can’t add more panels in the future. Next:….

The 10 dumb myths of solar installers #2 2) You can’t install panels facing east and west This one’s a goody, installers vying to sell north-facing panels only. Fortunately, it’s mostly been solved. With the self-consumption of solar generation paying three times more than exports, the light bulb has switched on that losing 10-15% of annual production to gain even more in self-consumption is worthwhile. Next: 3) There must not be shading of the solar panels  Previous: 1)The ‘solargedden’ is coming because there are all these dodgy installations out there from fly-by-nighters

As mentioned in a previous article, I’ve been arranging the installation of a number of solar systems lately. And I like to do them big (the efficient option); I like to get them for the lowest price (within reason, because I want a good job with reasonable quality components); and I like to make sure the economics are understood and that customers are maximising self-consumption while recognising economic value for their exports. And most importantly to me, I really want the environmental outcomes that come with installing as much solar as possible, displacing both fossil gas burnt on-site and coal and gas-fired power generation from the grid. In pursuing those aims, I’ve run up against a few myths I get from solar installers that, frankly, have me flummoxed. I want to buy a product off them. I’ve worked out the solution and then I’m told, ‘no you can’t’. But in almost every….

Solar Power Tivoli – A Sunny Day   There is enormous potential for generation of electricity through Solar Power Tivoli. Sunny days are the norm and sunlight is the only input required for generation of electricity from a solar PV system. When such a boon is available, where is the need to encourage the use of traditional fuel. We are all aware of the devastation caused by mining, excavation and burning of coal, gas and petroleum. Let’s put a stop to that.   About Tivoli Tivoli is a suburb of the city of Ipswich in Queensland, Australia. It is located around 3 kilometres from Ipswich and 40 kilometres from Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. Homes in Tivoli could benefit from the installation of Solar Power Tivoli. Solar power is not an exotic creature. The working of solar power is simple, clean, green and financially beneficial to home owners   How….